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ProFood Tech will return to Chicago next week, March 26-28. Uniting 7,000 processing professionals and more than 400 of the world’s top suppliers over 125,000 net square feet of exhibit floor, this show will feature 25 hours of free, on-floor educational programming and countless networking opportunities and activities.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA-AMS) purchases more than 300 different food products each year to feed millions of school children, families and other qualified individuals through USDA’s nutrition assistance and international food aid programs. USDA-AMS announced this week that it is inviting food companies to participate in a free, interactive webinar on April 3 to help them learn how to become approved USDA foods vendors so they can participate in the commodity purchases.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump delayed indefinitely the March 1 deadline for imposing additional tariffs on Chinese imports to allow current trade negotiations between the two countries to make progress. IDFA continues to urge the administration to include provisions in the final agreement that will provide the U.S. dairy industry with meaningful access to the $10 billion Chinese dairy import market.
IDFA also is meeting with U.S. senators, urging them to ask President Trump to ensure that dairy is top of mind during the U.S. discussions with Chinese leaders.

Last week, 114 members of the House of Representatives, led by Reps. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., Ron Kind, D-Wis., Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., and Angie Craig, D-Minn., sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer insisting on the “inclusion of agricultural products in upcoming trade negotiations with the European Union (EU).” A trade agreement with the EU that does not include agriculture would be “unacceptable” and would “significantly jeopardize Congressional support,” they said. IDFA also has advocated for ensuring that agriculture is included in any trade talks with the EU.

Because most dairy industry professionals come face to face with regulators only when an inspector knocks on their doors, IDFA's Regulatory RoundUP provides the opportunity for dairy professionals to hear firsthand from the decision-makers who have direct responsibility for the rules that affect dairy plants, products and personnel, as well as other experts. The conference, June 4-5 in Arlington, Virginia, will help dairy professionals better understand the intent behind federal regulations, the parameters for compliance and how best to engage in the process to shape pending regulations.

IDFA’s Ice Cream Technology Conference will be held April 16-17 at the Vinoy Renaissance in St. Petersburg, Florida. Although the event is a month away, the discounted hotel room rate for attendees will end March 25, so be sure to make reservations by Monday. The conference agenda is packed with an impressive line-up of experts who will help attendees to sharpen their focus on food safety topics, address market trends and understand regulatory compliance issues facing frozen food operations

IDFA continues to demonstrate that the dairy industry has a powerful economic impact – $628 billion in total – on the American economy. Did you know that dairy also indirectly supports unique industries across the nation, like warehousing and storage?
Not only do dairy firms operate their own warehouse and distribution facilities, but more than 22,630 jobs in outside warehouse and storage facilities depend on spending by the dairy industry or dairy industry employees.

The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services announced this week that the first meeting of the newly appointed 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee will be held March 28-29 at USDA offices in Washington, D.C. The public comment period for updates to the Dietary Guidelines also opened this week and will remain open until early 2020. IDFA will be monitoring the committee’s progress and working with its Nutrition Working Group to develop comments to submit for consideration.

IDFA’s legislative team took to Capitol Hill last Wednesday to participate in the Food and Beverage Issue Alliance’s annual reception where members of Congress, their staffs and industry stakeholders came together to welcome the 116th Congress. The team shared information about the IDFA and its members, along with infographics from Dairy Delivers®, IDFA’s economic impact tool, to demonstrate the significant economic footprint of the dairy processing industry in the United States.

IDFA continues to welcome new members of the 116th Congress to its office in Washington, D.C. Last week, IDFA hosted a meet-and-greet with Rep. TJ Cox, D-Calif., who represents California’s 21st congressional district. Cox is a member of the House Agriculture Committee and the Natural Resources Committee.

Fun fruit combinations, liquor-inspired treats and other inspirations from both local and exotic destinations have captured the attention of judges of the industry’s Most Innovative Ice Cream Flavor Contest in recent years. Will your frozen dessert creation win next month at IDFA’s Ice Cream Technology Conference, April 16-17 in St. Petersburg, Florida? IDFA encourages all conference participants to submit an entry for this popular competition, which is sponsored by Dairy Foods magazine.

With only two weeks until ProFood Tech, March 26–28, at McCormick Place, in Chicago, IDFA encourages members to register and make plans to participate in the variety of offerings during the three-day event. Uniting 7,000 processing professionals with more than 400 of the world’s top suppliers on the exhibit floor, the show also will feature 25 hours of free, on-floor educational programming produced by IDFA, as well as countless networking opportunities.

IDFA continues to demonstrate that the dairy industry has a powerful economic impact – $628 billion in total – on the American economy. Did you know that dairy also indirectly supports unique industries across the nation, like trucking? All told, the dairy industry creates almost $4.39 billion in wages and nearly $12.27 billion in economic impact for American trucking companies.

IDFA learned on Tuesday that Scott Gottlieb, the Food and Drug Administration commissioner, will step down in about a month.
“The U.S. dairy industry appreciates the vital role that the FDA holds for food safety, standards and labeling, and we greatly appreciate Commissioner Gottlieb's strong interest in food safety and in working to launch and advance the Agency’s Multi-Year Nutrition Innovation Strategy that encourages industry innovation to improve the nutrition and healthfulness of food, including standards modernization,” said Cary Frye, IDFA senior vice president of regulatory affairs.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative made an announcement yesterday that has the potential to have a positive impact on the U.S. dairy industry’s trading relationship with India. Specifically, USTR said it plans to terminate India's eligibility under the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program due to its failure to provide “equitable and reasonable access to its market.” IDFA has been urging the administration to remove India from the GSP program for some time.